Light Tents

Light tents are used to surround your glass with a translucent material to diffuse the light source. These are terrific for shiny items like fused glass.

They can be made or purchased. The size of the tent you need will depend on the size of the objects you will be photographing and of course the room you have available.

Lighting is an important part of photographing. If the lighting is not right then the subject will either look too dark and barely visible, or too light and look washed out. Adjust the light to obtain just the right hue on your subject matter.

1. The tent should be about three times the width of whatever you are photographing.

2. Use good lighting, such as outdoor lighting or lamps.

3. Add anything you like for background.

4. Any small reflections can be edited in a photo program.

Purchased On Line

These tents can be found on line and hundreds of them are sale on eBay. Just do a search for light tent.

Most of them are called cubes. They are small cube shaped tents made out of white nylon fabric. They typically have one side that is open so that you can shoot your picture. These can cost up to $399.00 plus shipping.

Homemade

If cost is a factor, you can still build a light tent that gives you fantastic results when photographing your small fused glass pieces up close. To make a light tent at home, you can use many items. Remember that most white translucent materials will work with your homemade light tent.

An old file cabinet frame for hanging folders can be used for a small frame. This can be draped with a white pillow case, sheet, or white trash bag.

Foam core can be cut up and assembled with tape to make a cube. Cut up the foam core into 12 strips and assembled it into a cube shape. Place the tissue paper or tracing paper on all sides except bottom and front. This will allow you to place your box over an item to photograph, and a space for your camera.

Another easy tent to make uses PVC pipes. After measuring and deciding what pipes you will need, you can use bed sheets or white plastic garbage bags as the outside to diffuse your light source. Decide on the size of the tent you want to make. To make a PVC tent you will need the following:

PVC pipes

“T” fittings

90 degree elbows

End caps

Glue

White bed sheet or white plastic garbage bags

The corners of the frame are glued at the T pieces, and the 90-degree angle piece is glued to the leg. Leave the legs loose, this allows the piece to be folded up for storage purposes. Be sure to get the T pieces aligned square to each other.

If you are using a white bed sheet, you could try sewing the corners together to make a snug fit. Cut small windows in the side for your camera to fit through.